US Dollar Index (DXY) approaches mid-99.00s amid fading Iran de-escalation hopes
- DXY attracts some dip-buyers amid persistent geopolitical risks stemming from Middle East tensions.
- Iran denies that it had held talks with the US to end the war, contradicting Trump’s overnight remarks.
- Inflation fears fuel hawkish Fed expectations, pushing US bond yields higher and underpinning the USD.
The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback against a basket of currencies, regains positive traction following the previous day's downfall to a nearly two-week low and climbs to the 99.35 area during the Asian session on Tuesday. Moreover, the fundamental backdrop seems tilted in favor of the US Dollar (USD) bulls.
President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US had held productive conversations with Iran and that a deal could be reached soon. The optimism, however, fades rather quickly after Iran denied that it had held talks with the US to end the war in the Gulf. Adding to this, reports of strikes on Iran’s gas infrastructure raised the risk of a further escalation of tensions in the Middle East, which triggers a fresh wave of the global risk-aversion trade and benefits the USD's global reserve currency status.
According to the Iranian semi‑official Fars news agency, a gas company office and a pressure‑reduction station were hit in Iran’s central city of Isfahan. Adding to this, a projectile reportedly struck a gas pipeline feeding a power station in Khorramshahr. Moreover, a severe disruption of energy trade due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and assists Crude Oil prices to catch fresh bids. This revives inflation fears and hawkish Federal Reserve (Fed) expectations, underpinning the USD.
In fact, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool indicates minimal to no chance of a rate cut by the end of this year. The outlook, in turn, leads to a modest rise in the US Treasury bond yields and turns out to be another factor lending support to the Greenback. The aforementioned supportive factors validate the near-term positive outlook for the buck and support the case for a further intraday appreciating move for the DXY. Traders now look forward to the release of the global flash PMIs for some impetus.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.22% | 0.26% | 0.13% | 0.17% | 0.55% | 0.34% | 0.22% | |
| EUR | -0.22% | 0.01% | -0.11% | -0.05% | 0.32% | 0.12% | -0.00% | |
| GBP | -0.26% | -0.01% | -0.09% | -0.07% | 0.31% | 0.10% | -0.02% | |
| JPY | -0.13% | 0.11% | 0.09% | 0.06% | 0.44% | 0.22% | 0.12% | |
| CAD | -0.17% | 0.05% | 0.07% | -0.06% | 0.37% | 0.16% | 0.05% | |
| AUD | -0.55% | -0.32% | -0.31% | -0.44% | -0.37% | -0.21% | -0.35% | |
| NZD | -0.34% | -0.12% | -0.10% | -0.22% | -0.16% | 0.21% | -0.12% | |
| CHF | -0.22% | 0.00% | 0.02% | -0.12% | -0.05% | 0.35% | 0.12% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Author
Haresh Menghani
FXStreet
Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.
